Subsidence & Wall Cracks: Underpinning Free Home Assessment was Wrong
Subsidence Engineer Reports, Soil Testing Experience Required
๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐-๐ผ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ถ๐น ๐ง๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ & ๐ช๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐.
Very Important: When deciding on an engineer for a subsidence & wall crack inspection, make sure the engineers have actual experience in field and lab soil testing themselves. Very few engineers in S.E. Qld that write wall crack & subsidence reports have any hands-on experience with soil testing. A genuine, expert, subsidence engineer report should be done by those who have a real apprenticeship in soil testing / geotechnical engineering.
๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐;
- soil test drilling
- soil lab testing
- soil descriptions
- site classifications
- footing and slab designs; strip, pad and edge beam footings, conventional and waffle pod slabs
- deep footing piers, conventional concrete piers, push-piles, small diameter driven timber piles and steel screw piles
- Foundation Underpinning; conventional concrete, polyurethane resin, timber piles and steel screw piers.
๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ -๐๐-๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
- areas with highly plastic clay soils
- poorly compacted land fill
- alluvial deposits
- compressible soils
- organic soils
- acid-sulphate soils.
- marine clays
๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐-๐ผ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ; real soil testing knowledge and skills.
It is essential that any engineers offering subsidence reports actually have local Queensland experience in soil testing and geotechnical behavior.
With over 5000 cases completed in the last 12 years. And before that, decades of actual Geotechnical / Soil Testing, Site Classification and Slab Design hands-on experience, Forensic Engineers are the best choice for RPEQ Structural Engineer Reports for subsidence and house foundation problems.
Strata and Body Corp RPEQ Engineer Reports, Wall Cracks, Subsidence, Underpinning
๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฝ & ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐๐!
In this recent case, the Body Corp called us in to investigate and report on this townhouse with subsidence and wall cracks and gaps that were getting worse and worse.
It turned out that other engineers had previously looked at the building and had decided that subsidence had occurred in the past and had stopped and and the damages were not serious and could be patched and painted. Sadly, they were wrong.
CALL FORENSIC ENGINEERS!
Forensic Engineers has decades of Soil Testing & Geotechnincal experience. And becsue of that, we identified that the townhouse was actually located on ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐น that was gradually ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, bit-by-bit, year after year. And stabilization with ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
In this case, Resin / Chemical Underpinning was not considered appropriate and Steel Screw piers would be far too expensive and unnecessary.
The most reliable and cost effective method was with conventional underpinning using reinforced concrete piers and head-stocks.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฝ & ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐๐.
- Our service is first class
- Quotes in hours
- Decades of soil testing experience
- Inspections and reports in days not weeks.
- Very competitive rates.
- REPQ engineer reports
O๐๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐ RPEQ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ, ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ% ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐.
Home Owner Saved Thousands on Underpinning
Structural Engineer Underpinning Report:
Thinking of underpinning? Contact us for an Expert Structural Engineer Report.
We Are Independent and We Aren't Trying to Sell You Anything.
Subsidence, Wall Cracks, Sink Holes, Stump Damage
Structural Engineer Reports needed from Forensic Engineers.
These are cases we deal with every day.
Case 1) A house at Warner had serious settlements under a slab. We found the causes, assessed the slab condition and gave expert recommendations to re-support the slab. In this case pressure grouting was the most practical and affordable repair.
Case 2) A Tweed Heads house with possibly serious subsidence problems. We found that there had been some footing settlements a long time ago, but the house was now stable. Some drainage work and expert crack repair required - no underpinning needed! A terrific result.
Case 3) Walloon house with serious slab movements. We are in Walloon just about every week! If you are looking to buy a house in this area and the Building & Pest Report finds wall cracks - for peace-of-mind, call us to arrange an Expert Structural Engineer Report. In most cases there are some movements of the house footings and site works can help to keep the house relatively stable. In other cases where serious movements and damages are evident, traditional underpinning is the most effective method for stabilization, level correction and crack closure.
Case 4) A house on-the-market at Stafford. The buyer was concerned that damaged stumps have caused structural damages to the house. Our expert investigation found that apart from some stumps that were past their "use-by" date, the house was "sound-as-a pound".
Forensic Engineers: Expert RPEQ Structural Engineer Reports
Structural Engineer Reports - All in a Day's Work
๐ก๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น - ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐
The owner of a 1970's bungalow was renovating and needed expert advice about how to repair cracked and displaced bricks. Our expert Structural Engineer Report found that footing settlements and rotation was the cause. And we recommended a number of procedures to stabilize the footings and some practical and affordable methods to repair the damaged bricks
๐๐๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ -๐ข๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐
This house was for sale with some old subsidence and repaired cracks. Our engineer investigation found that there had been some footing settlements due to loose material in the footing bases when the concrete was poured. And to complicate matters, since then seepage had been softening the founding material and causing more settlements. The seepage problem and this had stabilized the footings and now the the house is "sound-as-a-pound".
๐ ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐ - ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐
We found the post galvanizing had been damaged by the concretors during the build, and the post bases had not been "tanked". Cleaning and treating post bases will prolong the life of some posts, but post replacement will be required in the future.
๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ - ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ & ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐
This house had serious gaps and cracks. And we found that the house slab had very serious deflections that were progressing. And significant underpinning would be required to stabilize the house before it could be properly repaired.
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ - ๐ช๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ.
We inspected this house for the buyer. And we found that a small section of the slab edge beam concrete had broken away and the edge reinforcement was exposed. Our investigation found that the damage was localized and the slab had no significant deflections in this area. Our expert structural engineer report recommended simple cost-effective grout repairs repairs.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐ค ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐
Body Corp: Structural Engineer Report, SUBSIDENCE & WALL CRACKS
Wall Cracks, Subsidence, Underpinning, Structural Engineer Reports
HERE ARE SOME RECENT CASES;
Renovating a House with Subsidence and Wall Cracks
๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐พ๐๐ช๐จ๐
It's really important to find the actual cause of the cracks, so that any repairs will last and cracks don't re-appear again and again.
๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ
That's why the owner of this Carindale house called Forensic Engineers to prepare an expert Structural Engineer Report.
Our expert investigation found old and recent subsidence & cracks, and footing settlements as well as footing rotation (leaning). We also identified that the house was built on an old gully that had been filled in and the landfill was subsiding bit-by-bit, year-after-year and this was causing the house cracks.
๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ญ๐ฉ
Our expert Structural Engineer Report found that Stabilizing the footings and permanent wall crack repair would require underpinning of most of the house footings with conventional underpinning.
๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ก๐ฅ
Home renovations are expensive, so if there are any worrying wall or ceiling cracks, it's really important to make sure the foundations are stable by getting an expert independent Engineer Subsidence Report from Forensic Engineers from the get-go
EXPERT ENGINEER WALL CRACK & SUBSIDENCE REPORTS: FORENSIC ENGINEERS ARE HERE TO HELP!
FORENSIC ENGINEERS ARE HERE TO HELP!
Wall, ceiling or floor slab cracks may be simple wear & tear, or they may be a sign of something more serious.
It may Subsidence that has occurred in the past and was not serious and has stopped. Or it may be serious Subsidence that could be getting worse and worse.
And there are also cases where subsidence & cracks have cleverly been covered up, particularly with houses that are renovated & "flipped".
Forensic Engineers are the subsidence experts and are here to help!
Expert advice from Forensic Engineers: Our expert Structural Engineer Reports identify old and new subsidence and cracks and determine if they are serious or wear-and-tear.
And we identify if they are likely to get worse and if any stabilizing or underpinning is necessary.
Peace-of-Mind; Building cracks can develop due to normal wear & tear or from foundation movements and Forensic Engineers are the independent experts to turn to for an expert analysis and for peace-of-mind.
